In Switzerland, tobacco consumption generates 3 billion Swiss francs in medical costs each year. In addition, 2 billion Swiss francs in losses to the economy, linked to illnesses and deaths, indicates a study published on Monday.
TOBACCO CONSUMPTION, A FINANCIAL GOUFFER!
In 2015, tobacco consumption resulted in direct medical costs of up to three billion Swiss francs. These are costs incurred for the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses, says Swiss Association for the Prevention of Smoking (AT) in a statement. She cites a new study of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
The cost of cancer treatment amounts to 1,2 billion Swiss francs, that of cardiovascular diseases to one billion Swiss francs and that of lung and respiratory diseases to 0,7 billion Swiss francs, the study explains. This amount corresponds to 3,9% of total health spending in Switzerland in 2015, says the AT press release.
Tobacco consumption also generates costs resulting from premature death or illnesses which can sometimes last for years and which are difficult to measure in Swiss francs, notes the TA.
TOBACCO CAUSES MORE VICTIMS THAN THE ROAD!
In 2015, smoking in Switzerland caused a total of 9535 deaths, or 14,1% of all deaths recorded that year. Just under two-thirds (64%) of smoking-related deaths occurred in 
men and a third in women (36%).
Most of these deaths (44%) are due to cancer. Cardiovascular disease and lung and respiratory diseases are other common causes of death, accounting for 35% and 21%. For comparison: in the same year, 253 people died in road accidents and 2500 people died from the annual flu epidemic.
Smokers aged 35 to 54 die fourteen times more often from lung cancer than men of the same age who have never smoked, notes the AT. She specifies that the study is based on comprehensive and detailed data collected over more than 24 years.
Smoking is the main risk factor for many heart and lung diseases. In men aged 35 and older, more than 80% of lung cancers are directly related to smoking.
For the authors of the study, reducing smoking is therefore the main priority of health policy. The figures concerning the relative risk of death among ex-smokers also show that stopping smoking can drastically reduce the risks.
In the sample of ex-smokers that were studied, the risk of dying from one of the tobacco-related diseases is indeed much lower than that of smokers. In ex-smokers aged 35 to 54, the risk of dying from lung cancer is four times higher than in men who have never smoked.
Source : Zonebourse.com/
